A Journey to Remember [Pokemon Fanfiction][Part 1 of: A Journey Beyond]

A young girl eyed the clock hanging above the teacher’s desk impatiently, her leg bouncing up and down beneath her desk as she rested her chin on her hand, her eyes transfixed on the clock as she listened to the teacher drone on and one. Her eyes vacant whenever she occasionally glanced down just so she could keep track of what was going on.
She had dark brown hair and startlingly green eyes, traits of unknown origin no amount of biology had managed to trace the source of. Her hair was so long it nearly reached down to her waist, only stopping about half an inch above where it would inevitably end up. It cascaded down her back like a dark brown waterfall and was swept over the back of her chair, shining in the light provided by the hospital-room-like lights that illuminated the room. She was wearing a green t-shirt and a pair of light blue jeans. She tapped the index finger of her left hand, the hand that held up her head, on her chin as she continued to watch the clock with similar intensity that a cat would watch a mouse.
Her impatience was courtesy to a fair that was going on in her town. This fair was only held once a year, and she had missed it the last time. This year the stock provided by the shops was reported to be very different from the bows and little knick-knacks that was sold in the years past. This year the stock was supposedly in video games and the systems required to play them. Legend had it that one of the other kids in her town had been sucked into one of these games, although she didn’t know if the kid had gotten back out or not, nor did she care.
“Why hello there, Porter,” A smooth-talking boy not much older than the aformentioned girl sauntered up to her desk, planting his hand on it as he leaned in. A cocky grin on his face as he looked at her. The teacher having told the kids to begin packing up as the clock wound down to the final seconds.
Disgusting maggot. He thinks he’s Arceus’s gift to women doesn’t he? The girl thought, using the name of the God present in one of the longer-lasting game franchises she had played over the years.
“What do you want this time, Colin?” she asked, obviously both annoyed and bored him as she kept watching the clock, silently counting down the seconds before she would be released.
“You already know what I want. Money. Now.”
“No can do, jerkwad. You took the last of my money yesterday remember?” She replied, grabbing her bag from beside her as she stood up, calmly slinging it over her shoulder as she began walking to the door, the bell ringing shortly after the added:
“Now if you excuse me, I have actual places to be.”

By the time Porter got to the fair, most of the rides were occupied and several of the shops had been sold out. All except for one it seemed, although it wasn’t surprising based on the vendor’s appearance. The vendor was an elderly lady who was obviously far past her expiration date. She had a glass eye and her hair was knotted and frayed, her teeth yellow and rotting as she smiled at Porter as the girl approached the stall.
“What can I do for you young lady?” The old woman asked, motioning towards the several plastic tubs in front of her. In the tubs were all sorts of things, hair ties, gold necklaces, rings, combs, brushes, and a few old gaming systems. However, what caught the young girl’s eye almost immediately was a strangely-colored copy of Pokemon Platinum. The colors on the pokemon displayed on the game cartridge were the complete opposite of what was normal, and as such Porter reached down and picked it up. Her thumb rubbed across the surface of the game, and she looked up at the old woman, who had her eyes closed and was still smiling at Porter as she spoke.
“How much for this?”
The old woman opened her eyes, which flickered a darker color as she noticed the game in The Girl’s hand.
“You can have that for free, sweety. I was going to just throw it out.” She said, to which The Girl nodded before she pocketed it. Muttering her thanks, she scurried home, unlocking the door in excitement and walking into the empty house. It was always empty. Her parents were almost never home, and as such barely noticed her presence. Were it not for video games, she would be completely bored.
“Sometimes I think I was born in the wrong world.” The Girl muttered, grabbing the appropriate gaming system off the table before placing the strange version of Platinum into the system, turning it on and starting up the game immediately afterwards. Smiling as the title screen greeted her, her hand reaching over to turn up the music.
Nothing seems to be wrong with it so far, she thought as she pressed a button and moved past the title screen. Pressing another button, she selected ‘New Game’ from the menu, and was greeted by two options. ‘Play Normal Story’ and ‘Play Bonus Story’.
Bonus Story? Definitely hacked, but I guess it wouldn’t hurt to see what it is, she thought, selecting the Bonus Story from the menu.
Everything beyond that point seemed to be the same as what she was used to from older Pokemon games, same generic introduction and character naming. When she was prompted to choose her character name, The Girl quickly typed in ‘Mizu’.
After confirming her choice of name, she was greeted by the game’s most recognizable line.

‘Your very own adventure is about to unfold!’

Strange. Never realized that those were bolded, Mizu thought as the screen blacked out and soon revealed her to be starting out in her room. She quickly opened up the in-game menu before retrieving a small slip of paper from her back left pocket.
Time to see if this cheat actually works, she thought pressing the appropriate buttons before exiting the menu. Upon doing this however, the screen promptly went black.
“You gotta be fucking kidding me,” Mizu said as she smacked the side of the handheld system. Soon after she did this words began to appear, and they seemed to glow beyond the blackness behind them.

You dare to cheat a world so wonderous?
You are not God, so don’t act like it.
However, you most likely think this is some sort of trick.
So how about I just deal out your punishment now?

Punishment? Mizu thought shortly before she was wrapped in darkness, blinking a few times as she stared out into the black around her. Closing her eyes again, she opened them up to be greeted with a ceiling.
Was it all a dream? She thought, putting a hand up to her head as she sat up. Her eyes closed as she pondered her own question. After deciding that it wasn’t worth thinking about she slipped out of bed, her feet landing on carpet.
Wait… carpet? Mizu thought, her eyes snapping open as she turned her gaze downwards, There isn’t any carpet in my house. Where the hell am I?
“Mizu, sister dearest? Are you awake yet? I’ve got to go so I can get back to Sunyshore in time to open up the gym,” a male voice called from outside her door. “I won’t be coming back you know. I’ll just be waiting for you there for when you come to challenge me, Kain and Zephyroth are downstairs waiting for you to get down there,” He added.
“Uh, Okay!” Mizu replied, not quite sure of who this guy was. Although considering that he mentioned the Sunyshore Gym… Mizu snapped her fingers in accomplishment.
Volkner! That’s who he is!  But he said something about me being his sister… WAIT A MINUTE! Mizu thought, her eyes widening as the pieces clicked into place.
This is… I’m inside the game. How is this even possible? She thought, running her hands through her hair as she processed the information presented to her.
Had to have something to do with those words. Is this what whoever-it-was meant by ‘punishment’? She was pacing now. Volkner had long since left the house, and it was about half an hour afterwards that Mizu finally calmed down enough to open the door to the hallway. There was once door directly across the hall from her own, and to her left a staircase could be seen a few feet away. Glancing back into her room, Mizu noticed a black and yellow backpack that was only half packed. Walking over to it, she found a small journal lying nearby. She picked it up before slowly opening it to the first page and reading the contents.

Entry 1
I’m so excited! After so long I finally get to go on an adventure of my own! My brother is leaving to go back to Sunyshore in the morning, which will leave me alone with Kain and Zephyroth until I get everything packed. Afterwards I plan on heading out to the next city. I can only hope we don’t hit any snags. The only thing that worries me right now is how my battle with Rorke is going to go. The last time someone got his badge was about 10 years ago when Lucas got it. Since then he’s gone undefeated.
This might be the last time in a while that I write. I’m so happy that Volkner finally decided to buy me another journal after I filled up the last one with drawings.
That’s it for now, I’ll be taking this with me on my journey.

Mizu closed the journal, and sat on her knees. Her eyes looking around at the neat pile of clothing and other necessities that were all piled near the backpack. She slowly walked over to them before finishing up the half-finished packing that had been started by whoever had been in her place before. After she had put everything into the backpack, she checked each pocket one more time to make sure she had everything. Upon unzipping the front-most pocket however, her face turned a bright red before the quickly zipped it back up.
Note to self, NEVER unzip that pocket with other people around. No one needs to see that. Mizu thought, fighting her blush down as she looked over to her dresser and then at the door to her bedroom. After a moment’s worth of arguing with herself, she stood up and closed the door before walking back over to the dresser. She opened the top drawer and pulled out a black t-shirt and putting it on over her white bra. Closing that drawer, she opened up a few more before finding the one she was looking for.
Skirts, skirts, skirts, and more fucking skirts. Holy hell did I wear anything but skirts in this universe? Mizu thought, picking one at random and putting it on.
Although it IS kinda cute, she thought in a slightly quieter voice before she closed that drawer and opened the one above it.
After she had put on a pair of socks she padded back over to the backpack and picked it up before walking over to the door. Opening it, she walked through and glanced back. Knowing that she might never see that room again, she closed the door behind her and walked down the stairs.

When Mizu reached the bottom of the stairs, she was greeted by two hyperactive Shinx. Shiny Shinx to be exact. Both of them. The one on the right had a small yellow dot just under its left eye, and seemed to respond rather profoundly whenever Mizu said ‘Kain’. Which left the other one as Zephyroth.
They. Are. So. CUTE! Mizu squealed internally, unable to keep herself from squatting down and petting the two pokemon as she looked around the room. From where she was standing, she seemed to be on the edge of the dining room. To the left was the living room, complete with a large TV and very comfortable-looking sofa. To her right was the dining room itself, a large wooden table surrounded by about 6 chairs of the same material. The kitchen resided just past the dining room, and seemed to go hand in hand with the open concept of the house. Atop one of the counters rested two pokeballs. Picking them both up, Mizu instinctually returned her two pokemon before clipping their pokeballs to her belt.
Walking over to the front door, her backpack still slung over her shoulder, Mizu slipped on a pair of shoes before glancing back around at the house behind her.
Guess I have no choice but to go along with this. I just hope that I can get back home soon, She thought as she opened the door and stepped out. The door shutting firmly behind her, signaling the start of her journey.